All good biography, as all good fiction, comes down to the study of original sin, of our inherent disposition to choose death when we ought to choose life.

All men should have a drop of treason in their veins, if nations are not to go soft like so many sleepy pears.

Woman too commonly commits the sin of self-sacrifice whereby she consents to be sequestered in the home, without intellectual stimulus, so that the tranquil flame of her unspoiled soul should radiate purity and nobility upon an indefinitely extended family.

When we choose a god we choose one as much like ourselves as possible, or even more so!

It is always one's virtues and not one's vices that precipitate one into disaster.

Motherhood is the strangest thing, it can be like being one's own Trojan horse.

[Evelyn Waugh] made drunkenness cute and chic, and then took to religion, simply to have the most expensive carpet of all to be sick on.